Silica Sand Market - The U.S. Is the World’s Leading Natural Sand Exporter

The U.S. continued its dominance in the global natural sand trade. In 2014, the U.S. exported 4,433 thousand tonnes of natural sands totaling 470 million USD, 29% over the previous year. Its primary trading partner was Canada, where it supplied 48% of its total natural sand exports in value terms, accounting for the lion's share of Canada's total imports.

From 2007 to 2014, the U.S. was a net exporter on the silica sand market. Over this period, exports consistently exceeded imports in value terms. However, in physical terms, the difference was less pronounced.

The Netherlands and Germany were among the other main global suppliers of natural sands in 2014. However, the fastest growing exporters from 2007 to 2014 were China (+20% per year) and Egypt (+15% per year). During this period, the U.S. and the Netherlands strengthened their positions in the global export structure.

The U.S.'s top 5 trading partners in 2014 were Canada, Mexico, Japan, Argentina and China, with a combined 87% share of the U.S.'s natural sand exports. The share of Canada increased significantly (+30 percentage points), while the share of Japan fell sharply (-15 percentage points).

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